Introduction
The present volume, dedicated to Yaroslav Starukh, is the latest in the Litopys UPA Publishers’ series of publications devoted to various distinguished leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement, such as Roman Shukhevych,1 Kyrylo Osmak,2 and Osyp Diakiv.3 It is one of several volumes that explore the ideological and political legacy of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), foremost of which are the volumes of Litopys UPA,4 à number of books featuring the works of Petro Fedun-“Poltava,”5 and the scholarly collection Political Thought of the Ukrainian Underground, 1943–1951.6
During the preparation of this book for publication, a significant number of documents and materials that were created by Yaroslav Starukh or related directly to his activities were uncovered. The volume contains all his well-known journalistic works, a significant part of which was never published until now, as well as his most important correspondence and documents, and reminiscences written by members of Starukh’s family, friends, and comrades-in-arms, which highlight his personality and civic and political work.
No Polish, English, French, Czech, or Slovak translations of Starukh’s works are published in this volume, inasmuch as they are represented by the original Ukrainian-language texts. Also not included are letters, instructions, monthly general surveys of the situation in the Ukrainian lands behind the Curzon Line (Zakerzonnia), as well as other documents and materials signed by Starukh, which pertain to the direction of the liberation struggle in the Zakerzonnia region; they will be published in a future volume of Litopys UPA or will be used for compiling his biographical sketch.
In addition to highlighting the life and work of Yaroslav Starukh, the documents and other materials published in this volume clarify many important events in the history of the Ukrainian national liberation movement during the first half of the twentieth century and corroborate Starukh’s involvement in them. The publication of his writings will help further research into both his works and the ideological and political legacy of the OUN and the UPA in general.
The volume includes an archaeographic introduction, biographical sketch, documents and other materials, and addenda. The documents and other materials are divided into four chapters: 1) Writings; 2) Correspondence; 3) Documents; and 4) Reminiscences.
The compiler researched the collections of documents held in the State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine (HDA SBU), Central State Archive of the Highest Organs of Government and Administration of Ukraine (TsDAVO), Central State Historical Archive, City of L’viv (TsDIAL), State Scientific Archival Library (DNAB), Archive of the Center for Research on the Liberation Movement (ATsDVR), State Archive of L’viv Oblast (DALO), and the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN, Poland), and other institutions.
Some documents pertaining to Starukh’s activities have already been published in collections devoted to such questions as the split in the OUN,7 the Act of 30 June 1941 Restoring Ukrainian Statehood,8 Ukraine under the German occupation,9 and Operation Vistula.10 The present volume also includes documents that were created by Starukh during his time in the OUN’s Expeditionary Groups.11
The volume reproduces Starukh’s obituary, which was published in the 1948 underground publication The Propaganda and Information Center of the OUN Leadership.12 It was also circulated as a stand-alone publication13 and reprinted in the 1990s by the compiler of the present volume.14
Several articles by Yaroslav Starukh were published earlier in various volumes of Litopys UPA, including “V den’ 22 sichnia!” (On 22 January!, 1946), “Bezsmertni Kruty” (Immortal Kruty, 1946), “Ukrains’ki zemli za liniieiu Kerzona v ohni borot’by” (The Ukrainian Lands behind the Curzon Line in the Flames of the Struggle, 1946), “Ohliad mizhnarodnikh podii” (Survey of International Events, 23 August 1946), “Upiór faszyzmu” (Polish version of the Spectre of Fascism, 1946), “Elections in the U.S.S.R.” (1947), “The New Famine Catastrophe in Ukraine” (1947), “The New Lidice” (1946), “The Spectre of Fascism” (1947), “The Displacement of His Excellency Bishop Josaphat Kotsylovsky and [the] Ukrainian Catholic Clergy of Peremyshl” (1946), and “Òî the Brotherly Czech and Slovak Nations” (1947).15 Volume 17 of the Main Series of Litopys UPA (editor in chief: Peter J. Potichnyj) is in fact a collection of Starukh’s English-language articles. They also appeared in other publications: his article “The Spectre of Fascism” was reprinted in the publication Political Thought of the Ukrainian Underground, 1943–1951.16
One important group of sources is comprised of statements that leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement made during their interrogations by the Soviet state security organs. As regards the continuing research on the activities of Yaroslav Starukh, the most valuable statements are those by Vasyl’ Halasa, Artemiziia Halyts’ka, Valentyna Horbach-Horbachenko, Volodymyr Horbovyi, Halyna Dydyk, Petro Duzhyi, Yosyf Kladochnyi, Vasyl’ Kuk, Liuba Lemyk, Oleksander and Yuliia Luts’kyi, Myroslav Martyn, Vasyl’ Okhrymovych, Volodymyr Porendovsk’kyi, Mariia Savchyn, Mykhailo Stepaniak, Yurii Stel’mashchuk, Dmytro Susik, Teodor Fedechko, and Vasyl’ Chyzhevs’kyi.17 Some reports on the interrogations of these and other Ukrainian insurgents are published in volumes 9 and 15 of the New Series of Litopys UPA and collections of documents devoted to Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych.18 Among the statements given to the Polish state security organs, the most valuable ones are those made by Iron Kudlaichuk, Myroslav Onyshkevych, and Petro Fedoriv.19 Also noteworthy are the reports on the interrogations of insurgents who made their way to the West, which were conducted by the Security Service of the External Units of the OUN. These documents are held at the Archive of the Center for Research on the Liberation Movment. The most important of these are the statements of Vasyl’ Chyzhevs’kyi.20
Another important group of sources is comprised of the memoirs of people who worked with Yaroslav Starukh and knew him well. A considerable number of such works has already been published. The most important of these are the memoirs of Vasyl’ Kuk, Vasyl’ Halasa, Petro Duzhyi, Stepan Halamai, and Teofiliia Bzova,21 which have been preserved in manuscrift form and audio recordings made by Volodymyr V’iatrovych, Vasyl’ Kuk, Volodymyr Moroz, and Roman Fedoriv and are held at the Archive of the Center for Research on the Liberation Movement and the private archive of this author. The memoirs of Starukh’s brother Bohdan, his sister Olena, and his niece Liuba Petryts’ka22 are also of great historical importance. Other published memoirs include those by Viktor Andriievs’kyi, Ivan Hirniak, Bohdan Kazanivs’kyi, Mykola Klymyshyn, Dmytro Kup’iak, Nataliia Leontovych-Bashuk, Volodymyr Lobai, Volodymyr Makar, Roman Malashchuk, Pavlo Muzyka, Halyna Petrenko, Lev Rebet, Mariia Savchyn, Dmytro Susik, Zenon Tarnavs’kyi, Ivan Shevchuk, and Stepan Shukhevych.23 The equally important memoirs of Volodymyr Horbovyi, Iaroslav Stets’ko, and Vasyl’ Chyzhevs’kyi have never been published; the manuscripts are held at the Archive of the Center for Research on the Liberation Movement.24
Yaroslav Starukh and his family are mentioned in the legal Ukrainian press, above all the L’viv-based periodicals Dilo (The Deed), Nove selo (The New Village), Holos (Voice), and Students’kyi shliakh (The Students’ Path), as well as in the American-Ukrainian newspaper Svoboda (Freedom) (Jersey City, N.J.).
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The main part of the volume consists of the writings of Yaroslav Starukh featured in Chapter One. These thirty-seven ideological, sociopolitical, and historical articles were written in the 1940s and issued as underground publications and individual brochures. Six of these articles pertain to the years 1940–41, three to 1942, and eight to 1944–45. The other twenty articles were written between 1945 and 1947, during Starukh’s stay in Zakerzonnia. The first chapter also contains the article “12 prykmet kharakteru ukrains’koho natsionalista” (The Twelve Character Traits of the Ukrainian Nationalist), one of the most important ideological and educational documents issued by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.
Chapter Two features seven letters written by Yaroslav Starukh to “Verhun,” Stepan Bandera, Mykhailo Palidovych, Myroslav Prokop, Yurii Tsvil’, and Roman Shukhevych and two letters addressed to him from Stepan Bandera and Petro Fedun.
Chapter Three contains five reports dating to June–July 1941, in which Starukh described his participation in the OUN Expeditionary Groups, as well the responsibilities that Yaroslav Stets’ko, the head of the Ukrainian state administration, assigned to him and Vasyl’ Kuk. The chapter also includes Starukh’s obituary (1948) signed by the Supreme Command of the UPA and the OUN Leadership.
Chapter Four contains the reminiscences of individuals who knew Yaroslav Starukh well: his brother Bohdan amd his friends and companions in arms Vasyl’ Halasa, Petro Duzhyi, Dmytro Kup’iak, Nataliia Leontovych-Bashuk, and Ivan Shevchuk.
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The documents and other materials that appear in the present volume have been reprinted in full, in complete conformity with the originals.
All documents have titles that were assigned by the compiler, with the exception of articles and reminiscences, whose original authorial titles were retained. Each document is accompanied by the following information: type of document, author, content, and date. Authorship (pseudonymous) is indicated at the beginning of creative materials (articles and reminiscences). The contents of letters in titles that were assigned by the compiler are not listed. If the date of a document’s creation has not been established, it is dated according to its content, accompanying documents, etc. In this case, a provisional date appears in square brackets, for example, [June 1944]. Dates are indicated for all documents and other materials, especially articles and reminiscences. The place where a document was written and its office number are not indicated.
All the documents are reprinted without cuts. Illegible and damaged passages are indicated by square brackets. Omitted parts of texts are indicated by parentheses.
Authors’ emphases (underlining) in the texts that are reproduced in the chapters “Writings” and “Correspondence” appear in bold. In the other two chapters authors’ emphases are not indicated.
The lexicon and specific authorial and editorial features of the sources have been preserved to the highest possible degree. Personal names and geographic place-names are given in their original forms. Punctuation and the use of quotation marks were corrected in keeping with contemporary orthographic standards. The texts of documents and other materials were reprinted according to current rules governing the publication of historical documents.
Spelling errors were corrected silently. The spelling of prepositions, particles, and words that require an apostrophe in Ukrainian was corrected in keeping with the current rules of Ukrainian orthography, for example: (pidchas>pid chas; v nochi>vnochi; rivnozh>rivno zh; v naslidok>vnaslidok; zviazok>zv’iazok).
Spelling errors that distort the meaning are indicated in footnotes.
All pseudonyms and cryptonyms are indicated in keeping with the document texts.
As regards copies of documents that were translated into languages, information pertaining to the translator, the place where it was found, the storage place of the original, and footnotes to the text and other accompanying superscriptions that are not part of the original texts has been omitted. To avoid unnecessary repetition, text appearing on the covers of books and brochures is also omitted.
Words crossed out in the document texts are not recreated.
Abbreviated words, with the exception of generally recognized abbreviations, have been recreated in full and indicated graphically in the following manner: õõ[õ]).
The genuineness of an author’s original signature on a document is indicated on the basis of the rule that was used in the OUN and UPA’s office management practice.
Every document is accompanied by a legend indicating the storage place (abbreviated name of the archive, number of the collection (fond), list, file, and folio/s); the authenticity of each document (original, copy) is also indicated. The authenticity of articles and reminiscences that were printed or typewritten in the form of periodical publications, collections, brochures, and lectures is also not indicated.
In those cases where documents and materials were created by the typewriting method, this information is not indicated; however, the creation of handwritten documents and materials is indicated. Information about the earlier publication or reprint of a document is listed in the legend.
The publication of articles in journals, newspapers, and compilations issued by the OUN underground and the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (UHVR) is not listed in the legend.
Reprints of documents and other materials from other publications are indicated in the legend.
The language of documents, other than Ukrainian, is not indicated in the legend. A translation (copy) of a Ukrainian-language original is indicated.
Commentaries to documents and other materials appear only in regard to questions that pertain directly to the activities of Yaroslav Starukh, the OUN, and the UPA.
The volume contains photographs of Starukh, his family members, friends, and colleagues. The captions provide information about what is depicted in the photos and the period in which they were taken. These photographs and other illustrations are held at the HDA SBU, TsDIAL, TsDAVO, DNAB, DALO, State Archive of Ivano-Frankivs’k Oblast (DAIFO), the archives of the Litopys UPA Publishers, the Center for Research on the Liberation Movement, the digital archive of the State Historical and Architectural Preserve in the city of Berezhany, the Vyrii camp-expedition, etc., private archives, and various published sources. All the photos and illustrated materials featured in the volume are stored in the digital database of the Litopys UPA Publishers.
The compiler of this volume, Volodymyr Moroz, collected the documents and photographs and carried out their scholarly archaeographic preparation.
Many individuals assisted in the preparation and publication of this volume: Ihor Homziak, Mykola Kulyk, Mykola Posivnych, and Peter Potichnyj (Litopys UPA Publishers); Volodymyr Hovorun, Volodymyr Ivanchenko, Oleksandr Ishchuk, and Valerii Ohorodnik (HDA SBU, Kyiv); Oleksandr Luts’kyi and Mykhailo Romaniuk (Institute of Ukrainian Studies, National Academy of Sciences [NAN] of Ukraine, Lviv); Volodymyr V’iatrovych and Ruslan Zabilyi (Center for Research on the Liberation Movement); Nataliia Makovs’ka and Oksana Berkovs’ka (TsDAVO); Vira Basara (Berezhany), Halyna Basara-Tylishchak (Kyiv), Tetiana Budar (Berezhany), Oleksandr Vovk (Kyiv), Nadiia Volynets’ (Scholarly Secretary of the State Historical and Architectural Preserve, Berezhany), Marichka Halaburda-Chyhryn (Sidney, Australia), Yaroslav Horyts’kyi (city of Obukhiv), Zynovii Horin (village of Hranky-Kuty, Mykolaiv raion, L’viv oblast), Taras Hryvul (Lviv), Oleksandr Darovanets’ (village of Karpylivka, Rokytne raion, Rivne oblast), Hryhorii Dem’ian (Lviv), Vasyl’ Il’nyts’kyi (city of Drohobych), Olena Luhova (Berezhany), Ihor Marchuk (city of Rivne), Volodymyr Matyiashchuk (village of Nemyliv, Radekhiv raion, L’viv oblast), Yevhen Misylo (Warsaw, Poland), Andrii Mochurad (L’viv), Mykola Protsiv (Berezhany), Viktor Roh (Kyiv), Vasyl’ Savchuk (Berezhany), Olia Svidzyns’ka (L’viv), Andrii Sova (L’viv), Petro Sodol (New York City, USA), John Stienen, Volodymyr Tylishchak (Kyiv), Yaroslav Faizulin (Kyiv), Volodymyr Shkil’nyi (town of Kozova), and Yurii Yuzych (Kyiv).
A special debt of gratitude is owed to Mykola Posivnych, Peter Potichnyj, and Mykhailo Romaniuk, who offered their advice and assistance in the search for the documents and other materials that appear in this volume.
Volodymyr Moroz